ANGER MANAGEMENT

Anger is a perfectly normal emotion. And when it comes to helping children with anger, that’s the first thing we tell them. Most children learn from an early age that anger is a negative feeling. By giving children permission to be angry and acknowledging and accepting their emotions, we’re allowing them to express the way they’re feeling – which might be frightened, worried, embarrassed or upset.

What isn’t normal or acceptable is when anger becomes aggression. The distinction between angry feelings and aggressive behaviour is a really important one. And one that young children – especially those who have experienced domestic abuse – can struggle to make.

Anger management for children

Anger management for children requires an important first step: helping children to understand the difference between feeling angry and being aggressive. By teaching children healthy ways to express their anger, we can steer them away from behaviours that harm themselves or other people towards more acceptable behaviours. Talking about feelings – labelling emotions and accepting that the way they make children feel – is a vital part of anger management for children.

Child anger management therapy

It’s really important that children grow up around adults who express their anger in healthy ways. But what if they don’t? What if children have been exposed to aggressive expressions of anger and have only know how to express their own anger in harmful ways?

Child anger management therapy teaches children new healthy strategies for dealing with anger. It gives children positive ways to express their anger. It helps children to develop creative coping skills, take responsibility for their behaviour and respect other people.

Monkey Bob – helping children with anger

Monkey Bob is a bright, friendly, loveable character that children can relate to. For young children – especially those who struggle to put their feelings into words – Monkey Bob is great at helping children with anger.

Monkey Bob is used in lots of different ways. Sometimes therapists use him to act out aggressor and victim scenarios through role-play to get to the bottom of how a child is feeling. Some professionals simply let children describe how Monkey Bob is feeling in a variety of different situations to open up conversations about how to manage emotions.

Visit the Monkey Bob shop to place your order now. Or read our resources page for more about supporting children and young people. Just contact us if you have any questions.